There can be no trade deal between Britain and the USA until the country’s exit from the European Union is complete, U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry said.
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Mr Johnson used his debut on the world stage to insist Britain would not “abandon” its leading role in Europe.
Appointed last week, Johnson was in Brussels for his first Foreign Affairs Council event, where he said future UK-EU co-operation on foreign policy and security were discussed as well as the failed coup in Turkey and the truck attack in Nice.
Johnson and Mogherini met privately in Brussels on Sunday evening and “had a good exchange on the main issues on the agenda today”, the European Union official said.
Standing alongside John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, Johnson claimed his remarks had been misconstrued, that his past journalism had been taken out of context, and world leaders he had met since his appointment fully understood his past remarks.
Brexit Secretary David Davis, who will be leading negotiations with the European Union, reportedly said the government would trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the mechanism to split from Brussels, “before or by the start of next year”.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: “Whilst Mr Johnson has enjoyed a close working relationship with The Daily Telegraph for over 20 years, it would not be appropriate for him to continue writing his long-standing column for the newspaper given his new role as Foreign Secretary”.
The meeting was Boris Johnson’s debut in the worldwide arena and came just days after the tragic attacks in Nice, France and the attempted military coup d’état in Turkey. Kerry added: “That’s the Boris Johnson I intend to work with”.
Ayrault told a post-meeting news conference that the frequently flamboyant Johnson behaved with “a certain modesty” at the session. “On the contrary, we’ve got to become more outward-looking, more free trading, do more deals around the world”, he said. Britain’s new top diplomat didn’t hold a news conference of his own, but emerged for about two minutes to speak with journalists.
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Johnson, who hung his head briefly as some of his past words were read back to him, said “people are more than welcome to rake over stuff I have written over many, many years”.
